This invention concerns steering compartment equipment for boats with an inclinable and height adjustable wheel, normally called a xe2x80x9cTilt wheel.xe2x80x9d
In the relative known solutions, this steering equipment features essentially a mobile support for the wheel shaft, supported by stirrups, the inclination of the mobile support and of the wheel shaft being blocked or released by a pawl meshing with a sector gear, features a universal joint connecting the mobile shaft with the fixed shaft of the steering, equipment and features protections, gaskets and seals to protect the equipment from splashes, waves and bad weather.
This equipment as nowadays known, has several drawbacks, the first of which is due to the fact that the equipment is secured to the dash board and passing through this dashboard reaches the steering compartment. It is therefore continuously exposed to splashes, waves and bad weather for which proper protections and seals are normally provided. At present, these protections and seals are not able to keep the system sufficiently dry, also because xe2x80x9ctiltxe2x80x9d wheels require the possibility to adjust these protections to the various tilting angles of the wheel.
A second drawback is due to the fact that the control shaft of the steering equipment, where it crosses the dashboard, is not adequately protected against leakage and splashes. Another drawback is caused by the fact that the mechanical strength of the universal joint located between the fixed control shaft of the steering equipment and the mobile wheel shaft now causes trouble and jamming, because of the sometimes even strong stresses and strains to which this universal joint is exposed and of the corrosive environment in which it is operating, especially during sometimes long tie-up periods.
This invention has the aim to minimise or better still to eliminate the above drawbacks. According to this invention, the external protection of the tilting device consists of three components, i.e. a first fixed covering protecting the parts of the device secured to the dashboard, a second mobile covering protecting the mobile part of the device, linked up to the wheel and a third component, i.e. a toroid or band shaped sealing ring connecting in an articulated way the above first and second protections.
The band shaped sealing ring has a particular configuration, which permits to bend outwards the edge facing the second mobile covering, on which this edge, after insertion, is fitted in normal sealing position.
After this definition of the, external protection, the steering equipment is installed by mounting this equipment on the dashboard and then fitting the first fixed covering, already provided with the outwards folded seal; the second mobile covering is then positioned, so that it penetrates the band shaped sealing ring which is finally elastically counter bent so that it is normally resting on the lower edge of this second mobile protection. In this way, the second protection is mobile with respect to the first protection and is capable to follow the movements of the tilt wheel while providing an excellent seal against water seepage in any and all tilt positions of the wheel.
According to this invention, an O-ring is sealing off the opening through which the control shaft of the steering equipment crosses the dashboard; this O-ring, together with the flange shaped packing placed between the dashboard and the fastening plate of the tilt wheel, further improves sealing conditions and makes the system, especially the dashboard, waterproof.
Furthermore, according to this invention, the universal joint, moving the steering equipment by means of the tilt wheel, is provided with four identical stirrups, which can therefore be indifferently assembled according to needs, and with a cross journal featuring a central body formed by a square parallelepipedon with chamfered edges so as to permit the maximum reciprocal inclination of the fixed and mobile shaft, without interference with the stirrups, while a steel bar with oversized cross section may be used at the same tire as cardan shaft. Four bushes with flanges in suitable material are provided on the head of the cross shafts, to prevent the steel of the cross journal from gripping on the aluminium stirrups when the equipment is not used for some time.
According to this invention, the steering equipment with tilt wheel is usually mounted on the dashboard with a flange featuring an inclined base, to allow for symmetrical installation with 180xc2x0 rotation, with a pawl to block and release the tilt of the wheel in upper or lower position.